Is Lily Allen's 'Sheezus' Too Risqué for Radio?

Lily Allen looks like an Avatar extra in the music video for her new track "Sheezus," which she just released last night—but that's not what has everyone talking. The buzz isn't about the technicolor, rave-y imagery but about the song's lyrics, which many are interpreting as an attack on pop's biggest names (Rihanna, Beyoncé, et al):

"Ri-Ri isn't scared of Katy Perry's roaring/ Queen B's going back to the drawing/ Lorde smells blood, yeah, she's about to slay you/ Kid ain't one to fuck with when she's only on her debut/ We're all watching Gaga, L-O-L, haha/ Dying for the art, so really she's a martyr/ The second best will never cut it for the divas/ Give me that crown, bitch, I wanna be Sheezus"

More From ELLE

But as Allen explained to MTV News, "it's kind of ridiculous because I name-check Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Rihanna and Lorde, and I don't think that I could even possibly take one tiny diamond off of any of their crowns. The idea of the song is the ridiculousness that there even is a Sheezus."

Cast in that light, it's easier to get behind the song as a celebration of different styles of female power, not a take down of them. Allen even explained that particularly striking Gaga part (We're all watching Gaga, L-O-L, haha/ Dying for the art, so really she's a martyr) to Rolling Stone, saying "if she's not succeeding commercially because she's standing by what she does as art, then that's a fucking great thing. That's to be commended. That's what makes a martyr. There's nothing wrong with that."

She also insisted that she's not the one making attacks on women, it's men: "It feels like the reason we play women against each other is because it's the last bit of power that men have. They're like, 'Let's make them feel shit about each other.'"

But getting people to interpret the song correctly might not even be Allen's biggest challenge with "Sheezus"—the issue might be just getting people to hear it in the first place. "I would have liked to see 'Sheezus' as a single," she told Rolling Stone, "but it's not up-tempo enough. It's also got the word 'period' in it, which is really offensive to people, even though half the world has to deal with it once a month."

Still, with a video this punchy and lyrics that splashy, it seems like "Sheezus" isn't having any trouble getting attention, official radio single status or not.